Believe What God Says!

Co-Host Do you want to lick the cheese off my finger?

Host Never.

Co-Host More for me. Mmm, that is delightful.

Host Why are you sitting on a bean bag chair? We have a fun day at the lab to lead.

Co-Host You go ahead without me. Yep, I’m checking out on this one. Not up to teaching. Thought about it, can’t do it.

Host What about the opening game? The big race.

Co-Host That? I can’t do that. (Pause) Okay, if it will get you off my back, I’ll play something. Don’t expect me to get up from my chair. Bring out the game people.

Co-Host When I say, “Go,” as unexcitedly as possible, you will have 30 seconds to land as many, uh, what can I use? Oh yeah, these cheese puffs will work. Land as many cheese puffs on the shower cap as possible. Go.

Co-Host Hooray. You won. I’m leaving.

Co-Host scoots the bean bag off the stage.

Host Something is up with our friend, and I have a feeling that today’s Big Point will help. First, stand to your feet and tell someone nearby which you prefer: cheese curls or cheese puffs. Let’s see what they are up to in the lab.

Co-Host Those six bags of cheese puffs went faster than I expected.

Host Still in the bean bag, I see. Don’t let us interrupt you. (To the kids) Can you believe that Herman’s friends are giving him such a hard time about his dream to provide cellphones to everyone in the world?

Co-Host I know exactly how he feels. That’s why I’m not teaching today. I was excited to teach, and then I saw Rusty’s cousin, Skip. He told me that I wasn’t good enough to teach and that I should give up. That’s when I grabbed the cheese puffs.

Host Didn’t you pray about teaching? (Pause) When you prayed, didn’t you feel like God directed you to do it? (Pause) Then you need to hear our Big Point. I need a volunteer to help us reveal it.

Co-Host You will help us as we count down from three and then read the Big Point… because I am not qualified to read it.

Host Let’s all say it together, Believe What God Says! Do you think that Skip knows more than God?

Co-Host Uh, no, that’s ridiculous. God knows more than anyone.

Host If you really believe that, then you would believe what God says more than what other people say. So, if God asks you to be part of His big plan, then you should believe you can do it. Let me show you what I mean. I’m going to choose some kids to come up here and help me clean the stage. I have some slips of paper in a hat/box. It will tell you what to do. You have to do what it says.

Co-Host It’s like the blue tasks undid all of the good stuff they accomplished.

Host (To the Co-Host) That’s what happened when you listened to Skip. It’s good to listen to wise people, but if someone disagrees with what God has said, then I’d ignore it and believe what God says. Let’s see if Herman makes that choice.

Host I think Herman’s on the right track with his dream to help people.

Co-Host Yeah, but his friends still don’t believe in him. I have to admit, I’m still struggling to follow our Big Point,

Co-Host Believe What God Says!

Host It might help you to hear what the Bible says about why we can believe the incredible things that God says. Let’s reveal the Big Verse.

Co-Host Help us count down from three and then you’ll read the verse.

Co-Host Isaiah 55:9 (NIrV) says, “My ways are higher than your ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.”

Host Sometimes we’re limited by our own thoughts. But if we believe God’s thoughts, we can go so much higher. Let me show you what I mean, and I’m going to need some help.

Choose two kids to help. Give them each a helium balloon. One balloon should have a short ribbon or string attached. The other balloon should have ribbon that can go almost to the ceiling. Have each kid hold the balloon until you instruct them to let it rise.

Host Let me tell you about Matt and Kelly. They are missionaries who, at one time, moved to other countries because they wanted to help kids learn about Jesus. They had a big idea. So, they got to work creating curriculum and teaching in churches in Africa and South America.

Co-Host That’s a cool idea.

Host It was, but God had a bigger idea for them. He brought them back to the U.S. to serve at The Ark Church in Texas.

Co-Host That doesn’t make any sense. How are you going to help all of those kids if you’re not there with them? Isn’t that like the big idea failing?

Host I could see how you might think that, and if they had listened to some people instead of God, they might have believed that. But that’s when God gave them a big idea to build playgrounds in countries where kids don’t have them.

Host They take playgrounds from the U.S. and ship them all over the world. Then they put them up for kids to play on. That has helped them share Jesus with tons of kids.

Co-Host So their big idea became a lot bigger?

Host They had a great idea, but because they listened to God and believed what He said, they made a bigger difference.

Co-Host I guess we really can trust God, even when we don’t understand.

Host Exactly. When God speaks, listen. Let’s take a moment to stand and worship God.

Let’s bow our heads and close our eyes. You may have never even thought about what God wants you to be or what dream He wants you to dream. This might be a brand-new idea. That’s okay. This is a great time to think about God’s big plan for your life. His plan is full of good things for you, big dreams, stuff so great you can’t even imagine it. Right where you are, I want you to take just a moment to chat with God. Ask Him to show you the big dreams He has for you. Ask God to give you scriptures, Bible stories, thoughts, and dreams that show you the big plan He has for you. Let’s do that now. (Pause) Continue to talk to God each day and trust that God will show you more and more things about His great plan for your life. Let’s stand and praise God for giving us big dreams.

Co-Host It sounds like Herman will help a lot of people with his big idea.

Host Actually, with God’s big idea. Herman followed the Big Point,

Host Believe What God Says!

Co-Host I’ve decided to skip Skip’s advice and listen to God. I’m going to keep teaching because that was God’s idea. Thanks for your help.

Host Glad to do it. You can share what you’ve learned today when you do this week’s Big Do.

Host You get to play a game where each person in your family shares three different things about themselves. Here’s the catch. Only one of those three things is true. See if you can guess the right one, and of course, tell everyone the truth at the end.

Co-Host Let’s practice that today. We’ve chosen some adult volunteers to share three things about themselves, and you guys will guess which one is true by holding up one, two, or three fingers.

Host We may hear lots of different things from different people, but the One we should always believe is God. He will never lead you in the wrong direction. Let’s turn and connect with our small groups and talk about what we’ve learned.

• Do you think it was hard for Joseph to share his dreams with his family? Why?

• How would you respond if God gave you an idea, like Herman, but your friends told you that you were crazy?

• What are some ways that we can hear God speak to us?

• What did Herman tell us to do with our families in the Big Do? Play a game with your family guessing which statement is true.

• Our Big Point says, Believe What ______ Says! -God -Your Friend

• What did Herman dream of giving to pastors around the world? -Pens -Cell Phones

• Herman’s friends thought he was crazy for believing the big dream. -True -False

• How did God speak to Joseph in the Big Story? -Out loud -Dream

• In Joseph’s dream he was the _____ of his family. -Leader -Follower

• Complete the Big Verse: Isaiah 55:9 (NIrV), “My ways are _____ than your ways. My thoughts are ______ than your thoughts.” -Lower -Higher

• Why is it important to listen to God more than you listen to other people?

• God won’t speak to you and share His big plan like He did with Joseph. -True -False

• Name one way that God can speak to you.

• What challenge did Herman give us as this week’s Big Do? Play a game with your family guessing which statement is true.